Young cat purring without stimulation: Pain, stress, or normal?

[sollinton]

Hi everyone, first time here! So here's the story on our newest cat:
We began fostering a feral kitten (male, about 3-4 weeks old) a few months ago. He had obviously been very stressed at first but he has since built a lot of trust with me but is still very skittish around new people. We had two older cats in the house originally who have become good friends with the kitten.

So here's my actual dilemma: Our young cat (who is about 7 months old now) likes to purr a lot just by being near or seeing people. He also likes to lay on his side and roll over multiple times seemingly for no reason. Is this behavior indicative of possible pain, stress, or is it totally normal?

Thank you for all of your help!

 

[ritz]

Sounds to me purfectly normal, perhaps his way of getting your attention and some cuddles.  Is he neutered?

Of course, make sure he doesn't have fleas or any kind of skin allergy.

 

[di and bob]

Sounds perfectly normal to me, my cats both drop to the ground and 'roll', they know they look cute and it will get some attention. As to the purring, he associates good things with people and it would be normal for him to purr when he sees one, also he may be purring to 'self calm' if he seems a little stressed, I've had a lot of cats do that when they were injured or scared.

 

[sollinton]

Thanks for the replies guys, that's a relief to hear.

He has been neutered and I'll be sure to ask the vet to check for fleas and allergies at his next appointment.

Thanks again!